Have you ever though how much you can learn from a day in a museum?
Well, I’m here to share with you the marvels I found in Villa Borghese, along with their stories.
Follow me down this thread to a world of myth and divine inspiration:
Apollo and Daphne by Bernini; the sculpture depicts the climax of the Greek myth of Apollo and Daphe, as the nymph escapes Apollo's advances by transforming into a laurel tree.
Can you see the dynamic movement? Can you see her transforming?
Zoom In.
Venus Victrix, meaning Aphrodite the victorious; she holds an apple in her hand evoking her victory in the Judgement of Paris, which caused the Trojan War.
Can you see the winner’s arrogance in her posture?
Speaking of the Trojan War, here’s Aeneas and Anchisses. The Trojan hero Aeneas, is carrying his old father after the fall of Troy.
Myth wants him to have founded Rome.
Can you see the strength in the body of the son carrying the fickle body of his father?
Intermission: just a couple of little angels looking at you at the gate arc.
Just another one of this breathtaking ceilings. This scene depicts the Greek myth of Phaethon, son of Helius - the Sun.
The boy took his fathers chariot, carrying the Light but, after many complaints, from the stars in the sky to the Earth herself, Zeus strikes Phaethon with one of his lightning bolts, killing him instantly.
David preparing to launch his projectile against Goliath; this is the biblical story depicting David determined to win this fight for his life.
Another masterpiece of Bernini.
Can you see the determination in his facial expression? Zoom in!
And I saved the best fo last; Persephone’s abduction by Hades, also by Bernini.
This tragic scene depicts Hades, king of the underworld, abducting Persephone? Daughter of Demeter, Goddess of agriculture and nature. This Ancient Greek myth was used to explain the seasonal changes, as a deal was struck among the gods: Persephone would spend half a year above the ground with her mother (spring and summer) and half the year below (autumn and winter).
They ended up happily married.
Can you see her tears? Zoom in!
All photos are mine, from my travel diaries.
If you liked the stories, please share and spread the word. Our fellow humans need to see what our species is capable of.
A final shot of the three-headed good boy, Cerberus. I bet you don’t encounter this angle often.
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In the shadows of Europe's dark forests, a brotherhood clad in white mantles & black crosses rose to power. Born in the Southern deserts, those warrior-monks dominated the icy plains of the North.
This is their journey, from Light to Darkness🧵
The Teutonic Knights, formally known as the Order of the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary’s Hospital in Jerusalem (Ordo Domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Hierosolymitanorum), were a Catholic military order founded during the late 12th century amidst the Crusades in the Holy Land.
The order was founded in 1190 during the Siege of Acre, one of the key battles of the Third Crusade. Initially, it was a German hospital established to care for sick and wounded Crusaders.
In 1198, it was transformed into a military order under the guidance of Pope Innocent III, similar to other knightly orders like the Templars and Hospitallers.
Few tales match the epic last stands of Constantinople and Thermopylae, where a few men stood and fought to the last.
But this epic battle differs; because those few men stood and fought alongside their King, claiming victory and a crown for him. This is their story⤵️🧵
This is a story of a boy becoming a man; of a prince who claimed his Crown on muddy fields, through fire and blood. A warrior-king who earned the respect of his men and turned a small weary force into a band of brothers.
It was the year 1415, and England was restless under a young, determined king. Henry V, just 27 years old, ascended the throne in 1413 with much to prove. Those years were marked by the turbulence of his father’s reign and upheaval of civil strife.
Many doubted if Henry could rise above the shadows of his father and the scars of his youthful recklessness.
Templars might be the most famous order, but Hospitallers have been the most honorable. Medics, merchants & charitable warrior-monks, they have protected pilgrims in the name of the Lord.
This is their journey from Italy to the Holy Land and back.🧵⤵️
The Hospitaller Knights, also known as the Knights of the Order of St. John, were a medieval Catholic military and religious order founded in the 11th century.
Initially established as a hospitable and charitable organization, their mission was to care for pilgrims traveling to the Holy Land.
The Hospitaller Order originated in Jerusalem around 1080, before the First Crusade, as a hospital established by merchants from Amalfi, Italy. Their primary focus was providing medical care to Christian pilgrims.
Following the capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders in 1099, the organization gained prominence and additional support from European nobility.
People today often easily speak of “bad guys” during wars, as the pattern of the everlasting battle between Good and Evil is also ever-present.
What if I told you that some wars the Greeks and the Romans fought were against real child-sacrificing, demon-worshippers?🧵⤵️
This thread is not exactly mainstream history but more about connecting historic and mythical dots; read it as a fairytale with strange Eastern entities from the Middle East taking over Mediterranean civilizations and some strange patterns that cannot be overlooked.
There was an abhorrent “deity”, called Moloch. The worship of Moloch (also spelled Molech, Milcom, or Malik) is historically associated with certain Semitic peoples, particularly in the ancient Near East.
The term "Moloch" likely refers not to a specific deity worshipped across all Semitic cultures, but rather to a ritualistic practice or a title associated with child sacrifice in specific contexts.
Want to hear a badass story about the salvation of a doomed army, when their leader challenged the enemy commander in single combat?
Follow me down this thread to relive a duel between an Emperor and a Sultan. ⤵️🧵
I saw a meme a couple of days ago by the Varangian Chronicler (cool account, give him a follow) and then CognoscoTeam (another cool account) elaborated the story about the duel; so I did my research and thought to bring you the full story.
After the Fourth “Crusade” – when some excommunicated dogs sacked Constantinople - the Byzantine Empire fragmented into several states: the Empire of Nicaea, the Empire of Trebizond, and the Despotate of Epirus.
Theodore I Laskaris, the ruler of Nicaea, was focused on consolidating power in Asia Minor and reclaiming lost Byzantine territories.